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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
St Andrews
Give St Andrews one full day and one night: the golf, the ruined cathedral and the castle fit in a walkable half-day, and the town empties after the students leave.
St Andrews is a small Fife coastal town built around a 1413 university and the Old Course, the course that fixed the 18-hole round. Everything worth seeing sits inside a 1 km walk: cathedral ruins, the castle with its siege mine, two quads, the harbour and two beaches. Most travellers come as a day trip from Edinburgh or as a golf pilgrimage; one night lets you see it after the coaches leave.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short days, cold wind); Open Championship weeks (July 2027) when rooms sell out and prices jump
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £55–85 excl. bed · Mid £85–140 excl. bed · High £140+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · NHS non-urgent 111 · Police non-urgent 101
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Fish and chips | £10–16 |
| Pint of beer in a pub | £5–6.50 |
| Cathedral entry | Free |
| St Andrews Castle entry | Adult £10, child £6, conc £8 |
| British Golf Museum entry | Adult £17.50, conc £15.50, child free |
| St Andrews Aquarium day pass | Adult £16, conc £15, child £13 |
| Botanic Gardens entry | Adult £6, conc £5, under-18 and students free |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- EDI · Edinburgh Airport
- Best flight choice. Tram or bus to Edinburgh, then train to Leuchars and bus 99, or Stagecoach Jet 747 to Inverkeithing for the train.
- GLA · Glasgow Airport
- Good range of flights; train from Glasgow needs a change at Edinburgh Haymarket or Dundee, about 2 h 30 min total.
- DND · Dundee Airport
- Loganair from London Stansted twice daily Mon–Fri, once Sunday; Apr–Oct also London City and Belfast City. 25 min by bus 99 from Dundee.
Typical fares
- Leuchars station → St Andrews, bus 99
- about £3, 10 min
- Taxi Leuchars station → town centre
- about £20
- Edinburgh → St Andrews, bus X59
- about 2 h, hourly, last bus 17:50about 2 h, hourly, last bus 5:50 PM
Get around
Walk. The centre is compact and the one-way system and expensive central parking are designed to keep cars out. Bus 99 links the bus station, Guardbridge, Leuchars station and Dundee; bus 95 runs down the coast to Crail, Anstruther and Leven. Taxi ranks are at the bus station and on Bell Street.
See and do
Known for
- Old Course and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club
- University of St Andrews (founded 1413)
- St Andrews Cathedral ruins
- St Andrews Castle and its siege mine
- West Sands beach
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Anstruther | Stagecoach bus 95 south along the coast | About 40 min |
| Dunfermline | Bus or train via Inverkeithing, or drive over the Queensferry Crossing | 1–1.5 h |
| Kirkcaldy | Train from Leuchars via Inverkeithing, or bus | About 1 h |
| Glenrothes | Bus X24 or X59, or Moffat & Williamson bus 64 via Cupar | About 1 h |
| Burntisland | Train from Leuchars via Inverkeithing | About 1 h 15 min |
| Leven | Stagecoach bus 95 south along the coast | About 1 h 15 min |
Sleep
- Town centre (Market Street, South Street, North Street)
- Everything walkable; guesthouses and small hotels in stone terraces. Book early for graduation, golf tournaments and university term weekends.
- Near the Old Course and West Sands
- Old Course Hotel and larger hotels; sea views and golf access, higher prices, 10–15 min walk to the bus station.
- Leuchars or Guardbridge
- Cheaper beds outside town on the bus 99 corridor; you trade walkability for a 10–15 min bus ride.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Excuse me / Sorry | Excuse me / Sorrystandard English |
| Thank you | Thank youstandard English |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card?standard English |
| Where is the toilet? | Where is the toilet?standard English |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Central parking is limited and expensive; use the free car parks at Petheram Bridge, Murray Place or Woodburn Place and walk in.
- The sea is cold year-round; West Sands and Castle Sands are for walking, not swimming without a wetsuit.
- Old Course tee times are ballot or package only; the other St Andrews Links courses are the realistic way to play.
- Major tournaments fill every bed in town: check dates before booking travel.
- Castle Sands is cut off at high tide and rocky at low tide; check tide times before rock-pooling.
A low-crime small town; the real risks are cold water, fast tides at Castle Sands, uneven ruined masonry and unlit lanes after dark. Standard UK advice applies: 999 in an emergency, 111 for NHS non-urgent.
One and two days
No timed day plan for St Andrews yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Old Course and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club
- University of St Andrews (founded 1413)
- St Andrews Cathedral ruins
- St Andrews Castle and its siege mine
- West Sands beach
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- VisitScotland — St Andrews: www.visitscotland.com/
- St Andrews Links Trust: www.standrews.com/
- Historic Environment Scotland — St Andrews Castle: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/st-andrews-castle/
- Historic Environment Scotland — St Andrews Cathedral: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/st-andrews-cathedral
- Stagecoach Fife: www.stagecoachbus.com/
- Edinburgh Airport: www.edinburghairport.com
- Wikivoyage: St Andrews, revision 5338132 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5338132
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
St Andrews
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in St Andrews; the US consulate-general is in Edinburgh, and most other countries keep embassies in London.
English is the everyday language; a few Scots words appear on signs.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/st-andrews). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.